Kindred Healthcare’s Success Story

Kindred Healthcare is a post-acute healthcare services company that operates long-term acute-care hospitals and provides rehabilitation services across the United States. When Equus was awarded the Industry Intermediary contract, it certainly made sense to connect with businesses, like Kindred, to achieve expansion goals.

When the team launched procurement in January 2021, Kindred was among the applicants proposing to launch their Career Accelerator (KCA) Registered Apprenticeship Program. It is a one-year program that supports Kindred’s hospitals and local communities with Nurse Assistant Apprentice development. The program is registered nationally with the Department of Labor/Office of Apprenticeship. The two-phased approach provides all healthcare professionals with career pathways, fosters professional development and promotes the advancement of quality patient care. Kindred committed to placing a minimum of 20 apprentices in KCA.

Amid working with Kindred to gain traction on the KCA, the Equus team discussed the benefits of becoming a sponsor for Registered Apprenticeship and assured the Kindred team that we take pride in our role in facilitating the process with our partners and stakeholders. The team assisted Kindred with their application—utilizing team resources to conduct research, assist with curriculum development, connect Kindred with other partners and guide them through the process.

On June 12, 2021 we received notice that Kindred’s application for sponsorship was approved. Additionally, three occupations were approved as national program standards (NPS) for Kindred, including Registered Nurse Resident, Cook and Nursing Assistant. Kindred is well on their way to meeting the goals related to their incentive award, as well as partnering with Equus to advance the mission of the expansion effort.

As a SNAP E&T third-party partner, Equus onboarded Kindred as a subcontractor in Tennessee to support the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs by offering 45% reimbursement of costs for SNAP E&T participants.

Equus Workforce Solutions’ contact with Kindred Healthcare:

Barbara Wallace, FASAHP

Sr. Director, Workforce Solutions

Kindred Healthcare